View full sizeJoshua Gunter, The Plain DealerHis teammates are celebrating as Trent Richardson powers his way into the end zone on a 23-yard catch-and-run in the third quarter Sunday. Richardson ran for 109 yards and had four receptions for 36 yards in his second NFL game.

CINCINNATI, Ohio -- I had fun watching this game.

I know, the Browns lost, 34-27 at Cincinnati. I also know that fans saw something that has been missing for years -- a real offense from the team in the orange helmets.

Admit it, by the second quarter, Trent Richardson had you on the edge of your seat every time he touched the ball. What some fans didn't want to hear is the simple explanation for last week's 39 yards in 19 carries against the Eagles: Richardson had no preseason and was playing exactly one month after having knee surgery.

Richardson vowed to be stronger, sharper and better this week. Wow.

What was better, the 32-yard touchdown run, or the 23-yard whirling dash into the end zone after catching a short pass from Brandon Weeden? I vote for the pass play. I can see how the Browns can build an offense around Richardson, who finished with 109 yards in 19 carries. He also caught four passes.

Then there was Weeden, who showed poise, a strong arm and accurate passing. Give him 322 yards on 26-of-37 passing and two touchdowns. After four interceptions in the opener, he had none in this game. Nor did he fumble.

The point is that in Game 2 of their pro careers, Richardson and Weeden came as advertised. So maybe the Browns will have a real offense this season.

Consider that they had only two games of 20 points last season and just four rushing touchdowns. The more the offense played Sunday, the better it looked.

This is not about sending Weeden and Richardson to Canton for enshrinement, any more than they deserved to be banished back to the Pop Warner League after their opening-day debacles.

But you can see the talent of the rookies. Consider that they have been plugged into an offense that produced only three touchdowns once all of last season -- a 27-19 victory at Indianapolis. Then consider this is the only the second game of any type Weeden and Richardson played together -- because of Richardson's training camp knee injuries.

When the Browns play Buffalo next week, you can be sure that every time Weeden even looks as if he may give the ball to Richardson that the defense will swarm. That should open up the passing game even more.

The Browns problem was defense. Six times, they sacked Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton. They were credited with six more QB hits. Defensive captain D'Qwell Jackson had a monster game with three sacks, three tackles for loss and an interception.

But Dalton showed a lot of grit and didn't wilt under some severe pressure. He exploited the young secondary, completing 24 of 31 passes for 318 yards and three touchdowns.

Making it worse, two of the touchdowns were huge gains -- a 44-yard catch by Brandon Tate and a 50-yarder to Andrew Hawkins. Yes, Joe Haden (suspended) was missed. Perhaps so was Sheldon Brown, who was active but out with a sore shoulder. The Browns are in the process of transitioning to younger cornerbacks such as Buster Skrine and Dimitri Patterson.But they -- along with Eric Hagg, Trevin Wade and others -- simply couldn't cover the Bengals.

By the end of the game, the 81-yard punt return for a touchdown by Cincinnati's Adam Jones was nearly forgotten. It came only 2:47 into the game. But suddenly, the Browns were behind, 7-0, before the defense even stepped on field.

After a good special teams performance in the opener, this breakdown really hurt.

For the Browns, it was their second loss in two games this season. But because of Richardson and Weeden, there are two more reasons for hope than a week ago.

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